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Michael Stipe Covers Neil Young, the Doors, More in Surprise Opening Set for Patti Smith

NEW YORK, NY - MAY 17: Michael Stipe and Patti Smith perform at the Everest Awakening: A Prayer For Nepal And Beyond at City Winery on May 17, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Grant Lamos IV/Getty Images)

Michael Stipe was the surprise guest opener last night at Patti Smith‘s Beacon Theatre show in New York, where the former R.E.M. frontman performed a bunch of covers (which, as Pitchfork points out, he also did during a Smith show in New York last year): Neil Young’s “Old Man,” the Doors’ “People Are Strange,” Boy George’s “The Crying Game,” John Lennon’s “Imagine,” and David Bowie/Mott the Hoople’s “All the Young Dudes.” Later, Stipe danced onstage with Smith during her 1988 Dream of Life track “People Have the Power.” Watch some fan-shot footage below.

Michael Stipe! #whenyourestrange

A video posted by Laura Kaye (@laurakayemusic) on